I'd Sooner Surrender
by DoveFeathersAndSnowFlurries
Summary: From a shooting into Protective Custody... Tony and Ziva ain't gettin' a break as long as I'm writing.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all! Here's that new story I was talking about... so read and let me know if I should continue!**

**disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to NCIS. Don't sue me.**

Antony D. DiNozzo checked the clock on his phone one last time before he swore he would quite the nasty habit. _Damn. It was only four thirty-six. Five more hours til shift change…_

NCIS's major case response team had been assigned to keep surveillance on a small town house in Manassas, VA. In this small resisdence, resided Victor "La Cobra" de Herodes, the biggest drug lord in Fairfax County who was also happened to be the biggest suspect in the murder of Petty Officer Monica Rosa. The two both belonged to the up and coming gang Muerte de la Serpiente, and apparently Mr. La Cobra did not take kindly to his girlfriend trying to escape gang life and make something of herself. His displeasure left Monica with twenty-seven 5.7 caliber bullet shaped holes in her chest. All evidence was in place, warrants set, handcuffs ready, and now all the team had to do was find de Herodes. After two days of trying to find him through cell phone gps devices and BOLO's with no success, someone…-cough- Palmer –cough-… finally came up with the idea to sit on La Cobra's apartment until his return. So now… Tony sat alone at a window looking through a pair of binoculars from an apartment across the street waiting for de Herodes to return. Maybe he would check the time just one more time… _ugh. Four thirty-seven._

Hearing the door in the back of the apartment open, he turned to see Ziva walk through the door carrying two large cups of Starbucks coffee. Tony smiled at her graciously accepting the hot beverage.

"Did I miss anything interesting?" she snatched the binoculars out of his hand and walked over to the window to look out.

"Absolutely freakin' nothing."

She smiled at his response.

"I had figured as much." Ziva walked away from the window and sat on the foldable chair next to Tony's. The two sat there staring out the window in a comfortable silence sipping their coffees. Every ten minutes or so Ziva would walk back over to the window with the binoculars for a closer look. Each time she got up, Tony contemplated about booby-trapping her chair somehow. _Maybe if that screw was loose, when she sat down…_

"We have something." Ziva said snapping Tony out of his thoughts.

He quickly crossed the small space between him and the window. Sure enough, when he looked out, there was the black 2006 Mercedes and it's owner, de Herodes, walking up his stoop with what looked like a bag of groceries. Tony quickly assessed the situation. With the exception of now, no one had exited or entered his dwellings all day. It would be he and Ziva v.s. the big bad cobra. Two v.s. one, the odds were in their favor.

"I say we take him now" He said as he quickly grabbed his cell and badge off the table.

"With no backup?" she shook her head back and forth swiftly, "Not a good idea Tony, not a good idea."

Tony took a few steps closer towards the door.

"If he notices extra cop cruisers or anything suspicious, he'll be out of here, and then we're back to square one." He began to open the door.

Seeing his point, Ziva holstered her gun and followed Tony out the door.

The partners casually walked out the building and quickly cross the street. Standing in the ally way next to the house, the two prepared themselves for what was about to take place. Tony pointed with his gun for Ziva to go around back as Tony got ready to take the front door. With a nod of his head, Ziva ran around the back while Tony ran around the front. He stood to the side of the doorway. Once he found all was still quite, he took a deep breath right before he turned to easily kick in the door.

"Victor de Herodes!" he yelled throughout the house once he heard Ziva enter through the back, "We have a warrant for your arrest for the murder of Monica Rosa!"

"Come out now!" Ziva added with an authoritative voice.

No response. Tony looked around, careful not to make too much movement as if he was stalking some kind of prey that could be easily scared away. He began to walk through the severely neglected living room checking each corner and the adjoined bathroom. As he entered the kitchen, he saw Ziva prowling through the dinning room in search of their cobra.

She pointed with her gun to another doorway on the other side of the room. The two agents met up midway and slowly walked over to the entrance together. Ziva grabbed the doorknob and waited for Tony's signal to open the door. Both their hearts were racing with anticipation for what came next; this was the do or die point.

Tony looked at Ziva. Bright green eyes met deep brown ones.

"One," he mouthed silently.

"Two," was her noiseless response. Ziva tightened her grip on both her gun and the doorknob.

"Three."

With that the partners pulled open the door and entered the bedroom. Each positioned them selves to not only ensure themselves safety, but the other as well. After checking the closets and under the bed, they just looked at each other with confused faces. They relaxed their guns.

Tony looked around the bedroom once more.

"Where the hell is he…"

Shots rang out, cutting off his statement. Tony and Ziva immediately riased their guns aiming out into the dining room where de Herodes was standing, greeting them with an eight millimeter.

Five, six, seven, shots fired back from the NCIS agents until Tony felt a sharp pain hit his left shoulder. He was able to fire two more shots before the pain was finally too much and Tony fell to the floor.

He clenched hi teeth and closed his eyes as he waited for the final shots. Two more shots rang echoed throughout the room, neither of which striking him.

He opened his eyes to see the remnants of the gunfight. Broken everything was everywhere and bullet holes graffitied the walls. He stretched his neck in order to see de Herodes lying motionless, outlined in a puddle of blood. _ Ziva must have got him… wait…_

"Ziva!" he sat up fighting against the pain extending from his shoulder, into his back, and down his arm; he saw no one, "Ziva, you okay?"

Silence.

Tony grabbed the end of the bed to pull himself up. Halfway standing he saw a heap of brown curls laying the floor on the other side of the bed.

"ZIVA!" With that, he forgot about his pain. Tony quickly crossed the room to get to his injured partner.

She lay on her side curled up in a fetal position. Her eyes were closed and her arms hung lose in front of her torso. Her gun rested a foot in front of her face and beneath her head was a growing pool of red liquid.

**review!**


	2. Chapter 2

"ZIVA!"

For a second all he could do was stare at the still form of his partner with a halo of red liquid encircling her head, his body frozen by fear of what might be. A small moan escaped the woman's lips, pulling Tony out of the trance, and sending him to his knees beside her.

"ZIVA! Ziva can you hear me?"

No response. Tony gently lifted her head off the ground and searched through her blood soaked hair to find the source. Directly behind her right ear, a perfect five-inch gash mocked him as it continued to ooze.

_Crap._

One hand immediately flew to his pocket while the other stayed pressed against the wound, in an effort to stop the bleeding. His finger quickly finding his phone, he dialed 911 one-handed expertly.

_One ring. Two rings. _

"911, what is your emergency?" A soft professional female voice spoke.

Words, he needed words. He licked his lips trying to force some kind of speech to communicate.

"WE NEED AN AMBULENCE!" It came out louder than he had intended, but it got the job done.

"Sir, please calm down. What is your situation?"

_Calm down? She had to be kidding. _

"My partner's been shot! I need a bus now!"

"Okay, sir I need to know where you are."

"Uhhhhhh…."

He looked around the room. _Where were they again? _His head was foggy as Ziva's porcelain pale face slipped in and out, and back in focus.

_La Cobra. Manassas. _

"Four Forty-four Shenandoah Valley Boulevard, Manassas. Ahh!"

He took in a sharp breath. Some foreign pain swept through him causing the arm responsible for holding the cell phone to give out, sending the device to swim in the pool of blood. The room went round and he found himself parallel to his partner.

It was like a Maine fog had rolled in, and only the blood remained clearly visible. _All the bright red chrisom blood._ _The color was almost pretty._

Tony tried to reach for the phone three inches from his fingertips, but the pain was paralyzing, and neither he nor this phone was moving an inch.

A wave of exhaustion broke over his body as he fought one last battle to stay conscious. _Gotta stay awake…. gotta help Ziva… gotta… sleep… _

Black curtains closed, and the show was over.

**_Faith_Hope_Love_**

**Okay guys, so here's the deal. I know I haven't updated in forever, but I just found new "inspiration" for this fic and where I want to take it. I'm leaving the choice up to you; I was thinking of making this a really long fic (possibly 20 + chapters, but no promises) and having a lot of twists and turns OR the fic can be made into a single story line and be finished in a few more chapters (short and sweet) OR if no one is interested, then I just don't write anymore of it. Review and let me know what ya'll wanna see. Thanks for reading! Peace.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Voices. Pain._

"Mmmmmmm…"

"Shhhhh! I think he's waking up!" an energetic voice broke through the hushed whispers.

"Abby, you've said that three times. He's just stirring in his sleep."

_Abby. McGee._

"Wrong again Probie." Tony's words were raspy and barely audible.

Light attacked as Tony opened his eyes to the white walled hospital room. His colleagues sat before him in cheap white plastic chairs, both looking desperate for a shower and some sleep. He quickly took notice the Nasal Cannul wrapped around his face and the white bandage wrapped around his upper arm and shoulder, just peaking out of his white hospital gown. Several IVs were protruded from his hand that rested atop the white cotton blanket.

_Why was everything in a hospital white?_

"TONY!" Abby quickly readjusted her sound level, remembering where they were. "Tony!" it was almost a whisper "How are you feeling? You had us so worried! We, well Gibbs, got a call that you were in the hospital and that you were shot and had lost a lot of blood. Then we get here and find out that Ziva's hurt too and…"

_ZIVA!_

"Ziva!" Tony quickly attempted to sit up, but was stopped by the gentle hands of McGee.

"Easy Tony! You'll rip out your stitches."

_Stitches? Who the hell cared about HIS stitches when Ziva was… was…_

"Where's Ziva? Is she okay?" There was little control left in his voice.

McGee and Abby exchanged a glance.

"Is she okay?" The question was repeated loudly as Tony tried once again to sit up.

McGee put a hand on Tony's chest to gently guide him back into place. "Take it easy Tony you don't want to…"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE DAMN STITCHES!" Everything was finally in focus as a shot of frustration sheered through Tony. "Just give me a freakin answer!"

Abby looked down at the floor, bringing her hand to cover her mouth. The younger agent took a deep breath before he met his friend's eyes.

"Tony…" McGee started then taking a deep breath to buy him some time.

_No…. no… she's not dead… she can't be dead._

"…Ziva's alive but… but…. "

_But. There's always a but._

" She's in surgery…the right side of her head was grazed by a bullet… and she… uhh… she lost a lot of blood, and…uh… the doctors are trying to see what they can do."

_No._

"What do you mean 'trying' to see what they can do?" Tony's voice was laced with panic as he nearly spat at the younger man with misdirected anger.

"Well… uhh…"

"The bullet caused a skull fracture." Abby finally spoke removing her tattooed hand from her mouth, voice weak and trembling. "There's some swelling in her skull. And bleeding. And the doctors said they'd do what they can do." The last part was finished in a sob that escaped her lips. A stream of tears trickled down her check as her head fell in her hands.

McGee gave the girl a sympathetic look, and placed a hand on her shoulder before looking back up at Tony.

_No. This wasn't real._

**Okay guys, it was pretty much a unanimous decision that this be an extended fic. Got an idea where I want to go, and I'm going to warn ya'll- hang on because it's going to be one bumpy ride. I'm super duper psyched for what's to come and hope you're enjoying what you are reading so far. Review and I'll send you a sneak peak of the next chapter. Peace**


	4. Chapter 4

For what possibly was the first time in his life, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was speechless. Maybe it was because nothing could possibly be heard over Abby's cries, or said between McGee's "it's gonna be okay"s, or maybe it was because there was just nothing to say; words couldn't properly convey how he was feeling.

It had been four hours since he had woken up to the nightmare; six since she first went into surgery. In that space of time, minutes seemed like hours, and the clock was just annoying at this point as it's hands moved in slow motion. At some point, Gibbs had come by to check on his fallen senior agent, literally walking into Tony's room, seeing he was alive, and running back out to find Ziva's doctor; he hadn't come back since. Ducky had stopped by with Palmer for a while, talking about something that happened in some country, some point in the last hundred years. (_Maybe two hundred. How old was Ducky?)_ After a half hour however, the two, like Gibbs, left in search of news of Ziva, leaving the trio with the room to themselves.

So here they were, crying, comforting, and possibly going crazy.

The clock changed from 10:59pm to 11:00pm.

"It's been six hours. " Tony stated, his voice was eerily calm.

"I know Tony." McGee seemed nervous at his friend's calm demeanor.

"Six freakin hours." It was darker and louder.

"I know Tony."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING!" Tony shouted as he sat up only to immediately to crumble back to the bed in pain.

"Trying to save Ziva's life." Annoyance laced the Abby's voice. She looked up, hurt tear-filled green eyes met her friend's angry worried ones. "If she's in surgery, it means she's not dead. Be happy for that."

The Goth turned her head towards McGee.

"I'm going to find Gibbs."

Leaving the room with clicking platform heels, she purposely looked down to prevent any sort of eye contact.

"Tony this is hard on all of us. " McGee spoke as he looked from his hands resting in his lap to his firend's face, "she's our friend too; we know how you feel. You're angry and scared, but don't take it out on us. That's not fair."

_ You don't know what I feel. I don't know what I feel._


	5. Chapter 5

McGee couldn't know how he felt, because Tony himself couldn't decipher all the emotions running through him, blurring as they raced in his head. Ziva, the strongest woman possibly to walk the Earth, was lying in surgery with a hole in her head. It just didn't make sense. Logic is logic. Chuck Norris can't die, neither can Ziva. It's a fact, written in stone somewhere with the Ten Commandment and that big Rosetta rock, and no one, not even Gibbs, can argue facts written in stone.

"It doesn't feel real Tim." He spoke without thinking, eyes fixed in the distance.

"Yeah." It was all the younger man could respond.

"I…"

"GUYS! Tony was cut short as a very energetic Abby quickly reentered the room. "Ziva's outa surgery. She made it! She's gonna be fine!"

Ducky followed in right behind her.

"Now Abigail," There was an undertone of worry in his voice, "that's not what the doctor said."

The two special agents both sat up in anticipation, one of them wincing.

"What did the doctors say Ducky?" McGee looked at Tony nervously.

"Well…" The medical examiner began, straightening his glasses, "I spoke with the head Neurosurgeon. He said as the bullet brushed her skull, and hit in such a way that the bullet caused a small compound skull fracture, literally taking out a chip of the bone. They were able to stop the bleeding, reduce the swelling, and repair the damage, but…"

"But what!" Tony's eyes were wide and wild.

Ducky looked, quickly analyzing him.

"But they can not possibly know if Ziva suffered any brain damage until she wakes up."

The four were silent for several seconds.

"Well, when you say it like that, it doesn't sound too good." Abby said softly

More silence.

"Can we got see her?" The senior Special Agent was trying to regain composure as a small bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face.

"Dear Ziva is recovering in the Intensive Care Unit, only one visitor at a time, and right now our Agent Gibbs is filling that spot. Once she is stable, which is hopefully within a few hours, she'll be brought out of I.C.U., and then the three of us can go give her our best wishes."

"Three?"

"Anthony, you yourself are not in a stable enough condition to be roaming the hallways of the hospital. "

"I'm going to see her." His voice was dark and dangerous, causing the others to exchange nervous glances.

_No one was going to stop him from seeing her_. He had to make sure she was really alive his own eyes.

The elder man gave Tony another skeptical look.

"I shall talk to your doctor about the visit, but I make no promises. And…" he began to turn to walk out the door, "I am going to talk to him about placing you on a stronger a pain medication. You may not be concerned about yourself at the moment, but the rest of us are."

Two chapters in one day, ain't a bad deal, huh? Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up sometime this coming week, but if you review, I promise it will be up sooner rather than later. Happy holidays everyone!


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I kinda love this chapter and it's definitely my favorite so far. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! I really appreciate the feedback! **

**On with the show…. **

_Beep. Beep._

Her eyes fluttered open to a man with silver hair watching over her, like the Alpha wolf guards his pups.

"Welcome back Ziver." Gibbs voice was warm contrasting greatly with his blue eyes. He almost smiled.

Ziva opened her mouth to speak, but her bone-dry lips would not allow sound to escape.

"Here." He put down his large Starbucks coffee and held a glass of water to her lips, in which she eagerly accepted. The cool water trickled down her throat causing immediate relief.

"Thank you Gibbs." The woman's voice was still raspy, but at least words were working.

"How are you feeling?" the older man gently placed a rough hand on her thin forearm.

_How was she feeling? _ Ziva considered the question.

Her head hurt like a bitch, she was confused, and the world was moving in slow motion. _Feel great._ She lifted her I.V.-pierced hand to the source of the pain only to find a helmet of bandages wrapped neatly around her head.

"Don't touch." He spoke to her like Ziva was his hurt, little daughter… but then again… maybe in a way she was. Gibbs guided her hand away from the covered wound.

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Worried ice eyes met brown ones.

Ziva bit her lip as she searched the depths of her mind.

_Snakes?... Guns… Tony…_

"Tony!" her body bolted upright. The world spinning before her, she fell back unto her pillow.

"Is he okay?" Her eyes were wide as she spoke with a stern, demanding tone.

"Will be. He took a bullet to the shoulder, but yeah. He's okay."

Ziva let out a small sigh of relief.

"Good. That is Good." She closed her eyes.

Ziva didn't notice the doctors who came to check up on her, pulling this and pricking that, or the nurse who came and battled with the Alpha wolf because visiting hours were long over. Her partner was okay… she was okay… she could sleep.

**Review and let me know if you like it! Next chapter will be up by the begining of next week. Peace people.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Long Author's Note justified by long chapter: You know when I said the last chapter was my favorite? Well, I lied. Chapter 7 kicks 6's butt. Okay so this is the last chapter before we get into the REAL story- yes my children, this is only the introduction. Thanks for the reviews and alerts! Literally, you guys made my day! One more thing, the first person to find the **_**Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows**_** reference gets chapter 8 sent to her/him in advance.**

**Anyways… we continue…**

Tony peaked his head out room 106's door. _The coast was clear_.

Visiting hours were over, resulting in few nurses roaming the hallways. Being the special agent he was, Tony took one more glance both ways just to be sure. Swiftly and silently, he exited the room, his bad arm in a sling, his good on wheeling the I.V. pole with his good one.

Ducky had spoken to Dr. What's-his-face and had received the approval for Tony to visit his fallen friend in late afternoon at a point when they were both considered stable. DiNozzos were not known for their patience.

Powder blue doors aligned both starch-colored walls as he walked the empty hallways. Small plastic chairs white chairs rested outside every other door. Where chairs were not, gurneys helped out outline the perimeter. The small numbers sliver numbers that rested top center of the doors were useless, apparently just there for decoration. _Since when did room 120B come after room 137? _Whoever designed Bethesda was stupid and/or had no sense of direction… and no originality… every hallway looked identical to the last. Navigation was borderline impossible.

Finally, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. At the end of what seemed like the ninth turn of the hospital maze, a red neon sign spelling out the words 'Intensive Care Unit", resting over double doors leading to a new corridor.

Placing all his weight into his good shoulder, Tony gently pushed the door open. A loud screech of old iron echoed through air.

_SHIT. _

Like a ninja, Tony's head quickly went both ways, looking for any sign of someone who could sabotage his search and find mission. A pain shot through his arm resting in the sling. _Maybe it was a little too quickly_. The small hallway stayed empty as no doctors, nurses, security guards, patients, etc. appeared.

Four open doors to what he guessed were rooms for patients lay on each side him. So his chances of picking the right door were…(_where's McGee when you need him?)_… twenty-five percent. The closest one was just as good as any.

_What's behind door number one? _He poked his head inside the door just enough to see monitors, and a figure lying in a bed. Not being able to tell if it was Ziva, the senior special agent took a few steps inside.

_Definitely. Not. Ziva._

An eighty something year –old man slept before in Bethesda's signature white sheets. Next too the bed was a thick Manila folder with big black letters written across the front.

A few more steps and Tony was face to face with the folder marked 'confidential'. Because one look couldn't hurt… and he could blame his actions on newly prescribed morphine… the file of Ernesto Hernandez was opened.

_Poor guy. Eighty-seven years old and he had to… have eight grams of cocaine surgically removed from his anus!_

Disgusted, Tony immediately closed the file, and exited the room. This was not somewhere he wanted to be.

As the other three doors stared at him, he decided to try the one directly across the tiled hallway. Once again he peeked his head in to see a figure on a bed, but this time, the figure was smaller. He entered the room silently as he moved to the bedside of the sleeping person. The face was turned in the other direction, but it was obvious this poor soul was a woman.

There was no question about who this girl was. He knew her, there was no question about it… but he still needed to be sure. Tony made way his was around the bed to see the girl's face, knocking over an empty coffee cup lying on the floor. He approached slowly and cautiously, because if he moved too quickly, she might die right there. Eyes closed, lips parted just slightly, she looked so at peace. If wasn't for the clean white bandages wrapped around her head, the I.V.s protruding from her arm, and the nasal canal circling around her face, she'd look perfect.

_Oh Ziva._

Tony pulled a plastic chair close up to the bed so that his partner was easily in reach. Ziva's chest slowly rose and fell, and every so often, her lip, or eye, or cheek would twitch as another reminder she was still with him.

Tony reached out and gently ran his thumb over her cheek. Absent mindedly, his fingers moved to her eyes as he gently traced the lids. Only was it when his fingers were outlining her lips did he realize the inappropriateness of it all. Tony drew back his hand, placing it on the end of the thin mattress. Maybe he was imagining it, but he could have sworn his partner let out a soft groan from the absence of contact.

Tony leaned forward to rest his head on the bed, careful not to disturb Ziva, or his holey shoulder. The sound of shoes walking on tiles outside the room was lost as a wave of exhaustion swept over him. His partner was okay… he was okay... he could sleep.

"Wake up Tony." The familiar voice was quit, but still stern and startling.

"GIBBS!" Tony flew up into a sitting position, being rewarded with a sharp pain radiating through his arm.

"What the hell are you doing in here?"

The Senior Agent's mouth went dry. "Uhh… I just came down here to check on Ziva." He looked at his sleeping partner, "I wanted to make sure she was okay…"

"Did you hear anything last night?" Gibbs interrupted, tone unchanged.

"Uh…no. No boss. Why?" Relief and confusion both bombarded him at the sudden change in conversation.

"You sure?" Now there was a bit of urgency.

"Positive. What's going on?"

Gibbs looked from his agent to the door. "It seems the hospital had a security breach last night."

"Yeah, I snuck down here…."

"No. Bigger than that."

Tony's brow furrowed. "What's going on Gibbs?" his voice now matched his boss'.

"Nurse called about an hour minutes ago. She found a dead snake tied to the doorknob of this room."

"What?" This made no sense.

" Ziva shot and killed the Cobra. Looks like Muerte de la Serpiente is coming back to bite us."

"You think de Herodes' guys left that as a message? How would they get in?"

"Don't know. That's what we're trying to find out."

A small groan caught both men's attentions.

Ziva lay staring at them, looking confused as ever. Her eyes scanned the room, until they spotted green ones intently watching her.

"Tony!" She began to slowly sit up. "How are you feeling?" Concern could be found both in her voice and eyes.

The senior field agent smiled. "I should be asking you that. I wasn't the one shot in the head." He went to stroke her forearm, then thought better of it. "How are you feeling?"

"I am fine Tony. Thank you." The ends of her mouth just slightly tilted up.

"You're gonna be in you're grave, and you'll still be saying that." He flashed his patented smile.

"You're both gonna be in your graves if you don't shut up." Gibbs gave them each a warning glare. "you okay Ziver?" his glare softened… slightly.

"Yes. Thank you Gibbs."

"Good, because you're both being checked out of here today."

The partners looked at each other with quizzical expressions, both knowing they were in no shape to go back to work.

"Uh boss, I don't think it's a good idea to have Ziva working a crime scene just yet. Head injuries do weird things… ah!"

Gibbs' hand collided with the back of Tony's skull.

"You would know DiNozzo. You're both being moved to an FBI safe house until Muerte de la Serpiente is under control." Gibbs voiced it as an order.

"FBI? What!"

"What?" Ziva's eyes flickered between the two men, "Under control? What are you talking about?"

Gibbs looked at Tony, "Vance feels it's inappropriate for NCIS to handle the case." He turned his head to Ziva, "Someone left a dead snake on your door. They think it was the Cobra's guys."

Ziva looked almost insulted. "Gibbs, I do not need to be placed in protective custody, it is not necessary…"

"Don't argue; it's already been set up with Vance. You two are being moved to a safe house. Once Abby and McGee come back with your stuff, you're gone."

"Wait…" Tony's face took on a look of horror. "McGee's going through my apartment?"

"Where is the safe house Gibbs?" Ziva ignored Tony's previous statement.

"Can't tell ya."

"What!" The matching tone of his agent's voices made Gibbs laugh… inwardly of course.

"You'll know when you get there."

**Did you find it? Review and/or Alert and let me know if you guys like the way the story is going- just wanna keep the readers happy and the only way to make that possible is with feedback from you guys… so… REVIEW! Peace.**


	8. Chapter 8

Seven hours in the back of a black SVU could have been fun, if not for the fact that it absolutely sucked. Tony was squashed between two-well fed FBI agents who were assigned to be his "body guards", Special Agents Carl Walters and Frankie Scappionie. In the two front seats, one of Ziva's "body guards", Mike Velinski, drove, while the supervising agent, Evan McCrae, filled the passenger seat. Ziva had the privilege of riding in a nice spacious ambulance as her doctor had deemed her unfit to travel by normal means. She only had to deal with one of Hoover's boys, instead of being surrounded by four. But jealousy was not the proper word to describe his feelings; everything seemed to be evened out somehow.

After being swearing this was the fifth time they had passed that bridge, Tony finally spoke up.

"Where the hell are we going?"

"Sorry." Ugly driver bossman stated with no means of apology, "That's classified information."

"So, you're taking us to a place that we can't know about?" Tony shifted slightly to ease some pressure off his shoulder.

"You will be informed once we have arrived at the designated destination." Fat Carl was also smart, as he spoke with big words.

"How about a little hint? We can play twenty questions…ah!"

Agent Scappionie elbowed Tony hard in his injured arm. Agent Scappionie was now Frankie, the big jerk.

"Sorry Agent Dinozzo. My arm musta slipped." No means of apology were present in the man's voice.

The rest of the ride was in silence, as Tony did not feel like having his arm jarred again.

After what seemed like years, the government issued car finally stopped. The two agents on either side of him excited the car, both slamming their doors behind them.

_Nice._

Tony slid over the back seat to the door, where he let himself out. Once he awkwardly climbed out of the SUV one-handed, he was able to examine his surrounding.

A small motel, maybe with eight rooms, stood before him. In back, a road, _if you can call it a road, _came in from a forest of trees, and left through a forest of trees, no other buildings in sight. Before Tony could contemplate how to escape from this nothingness, a white ambulance appeared out of the trees and pulled up alongside the SUV.

The back doors of the ambulance opened, and before he knew it, a certain Isreali had hopped out and was now hobbling to regain her balance.

"Woah, easy there!" Tony steadied his partner with his good arm, "what's the rush? There's not exactly much out here to run to." He didn' release his steadying grip.

For lack of a better description, Ziva looked pissed.

"I could not take one more second with that 'Special Agent Roger Williams'! If I hear one more reason why the FBI 'triumphs' over all other government agencies, I will have to kill someone!"

_Good to know she's feeling better._

"Agent Dayvid!" A tall hairy man stumbled out of the back of the ambulance. "I specifically told you to wait inside the bus while we ran a check security. I also believe you have orders to move around by wheelchair, and by no means are to walk. You know, in the FBI, we learn to follow orders."

Before Ziva could respond, Agent Walters interrupted.

"Williams, security check."

"Yes sir." Williams glared at Ziva as he turned on his heels, to march rather awkwardly towards his four colleagues.

"I am not sure I can take much more of this." She made a fist so tight it cracked her knuckles.

"He's right about one thing. You shouldn't be walking around." He led her to back to the bus, forcing her to sit in its open doors.

Ziva let out a huff. "Tony, I am fine."

"Yeah I'm sure." His eyes did a half roll.

"Tony, really, I am…"

"David! DiNozzo!" McCrae came bounding over the gravel parking lot. When he was standing directly in fron of them, he began his lecture.

"You two will be staying in this room." He pointed to the chipped red-painted door risidingn in the middle of the shed-sized motel and handed Ziva a small rusted key. "Scappionie and Walters are staying in that room," McCrae nodded to the room directly on the right, "Williams and Velinski are staying there," he motioned to the left.

"The two of us will be staying in the same room?" Ziva pulled her arm out of Tony's grip, furrowing her eyebrows at her 'protector'.

"Yes. It's more convenient for my guys to keep tack of you both if you're in the same room. Becomes easier to watch who's coming and going." McCrae's voice was emotionless, facial expression was bored.

_What? There were eight rooms and not another building for miles… how much 'easier' and 'convenient' could this be?_

"And where will you be staying Mr. FBI Bossman?" Tony's voice was dripping with sarcasm, as he was far from amused that their protective detail was cutting corners. _Bad enough there's a protective detail at all, at least do the job right._

"I'm tasked with escorting the ambulance back to Bethesda. I will be back in the morning to make sure everything is running smoothly." He walked away, ending the conversation.

"I do not like this."

Tony looked down at his partner, just noticing her break of contact; a small wave of annoyance swept through him. "Really? I wouldn't have known. I thought you loved our body guards."

Ignoring his tone, Ziva looked him straight in the eyes with a serious expression. "Not the protective detail. Something else just does not feel right."

"C'mon," Tony took the key out of her hand, partially ignoring her worry, "let's go check out our master suite."

**Okay so that was chapter 8. I love it, but my opinion doesn't really count, does it? Review people, and speak YOUR opinions! Peace.**


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